Death in Paradise star clears up misconception about series ‘exit’

Death in Paradise star Don Warrington has said there was no sneaky intent behind his return to the show despite a backlash over his exit.

It was announced in 2024 that Warrington’s character Commissioner Selwyn Patterson was leaving the cosy detective show due to a family crisis miles away from the series’s fictional Caribbean location of Saint Marie.

However, when the series returned to the BBC last month, Selwyn was also back, with many fans wondering if this was a response from the writers to the outcry caused by his departure.

Warrington, 74, has said this is not the case, telling The i: “That was just the storyline, nothing more.”

He explained: “The producers thought it would be interesting to have Selwyn reach some kind of crisis, and then, after dealing with it, return. There was no Machiavellian intent.”

Warrington was happy to learn how much viewers love his role in the show, though, adding: “It was certainly very nice to know that my character had penetrated into people’s consciousness to that extent, and that they liked him.”

He added: “It is rather nice to be liked.”

Death in Paradise stars Don Gilet as Detective Inspector Mervin Wilson, the fifth lead that the show has had since it premiered in 2011. Previous lead stars include Ben Miller, Ardal O’Hanlon, Kris Marshall and Ralf Little.

Warrington recently praised the series for having two Black leads, saying the programme has “taken giant steps in giving a different picture of the world”.

He told Radio Times: “Everyone realised the world had changed so we had to change with it. And it has given the series a richness culturally.

“What we are trying to do here is present people of colour in a way that is unclichéd – they are simply people getting on with the job and in that sense their colour is irrelevant.”

The new series will see DI Wilson continue adjusting to life in Saint Marie, while also attempting to reconnect with his recently discovered half-brother Solomon (played by TV newcomer Daniel Ward).

Meanwhile, Commissioner Patterson will be forced to confront his recent period of absence and attempt to win back the trust of the island.